It's been one of the most popular MCU fan theories for some time now, especially since Spider-Man was brought into the fold, and now Spidey himself, Tom Holland, has confirmed it: that little kid at the Stark expo in Iron Man 2 IS Peter Parker.

The scene in the movie sees a young boy in an Iron Man mask facing down a Hammer drone. Stark flies in, blasts it away, and flies off again with a "Nice work, kid!" message.

Given that the Expo took place in Queens, the age of the character, and the fact Peter would be interested in tech and Tony Stark, fans have long-held the belief it was indeed Parker. Speaking to The Huffington Post, Holland said:

"It is Peter Parker. I can confirm that as of today. I literally had a conversation with Kevin Feige only 20 minutes ago. Maybe I’ve just done a big, old spoiler, but it’s out there now. It’s cool. I like the idea that Peter Parker has been in the universe since the beginning.”

Pretty official confirmation then, even if it is Holland basically granting fans' - and his own - wishes. In a follow-up interview with io9, he elaborated:

"It’s funny, I literally had a conversation with Kevin like 20 minutes before [The Huffington Post] interview and he didn’t confirm it, I took it upon myself just because I thought it would be a good story and it’s exploded."

As retcons go, it's one that does make sense. It ties Parker closer to both the MCU and Tony Stark, but without altering the past too much.

Also in that io9 story, Spider-Man: Homecoming director Jon Watts was asked about whether the Battle of New York and its impact on Peter would be explored later in the series, to which he said:

"You have to think about two really big events. The one is seeing Tony Stark on TV, reveal to the world that he’s Iron Man. That would be so dramatic. Then, yes, the events at the end of Avengers would be a big deal to a little kid. And I think that might be something that would be worth exploring.”

Then, when asked if that might be where Uncle Ben died, he responded: "Oh, that's interesting."

So don't be too surprised if there's a confirmation of that someway down the line too.

Do you think this retcon is a good idea? Let us know down in the comments.

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